Then she said, “I ask one small petition of you; don’t deny me.” The king said to her, “Ask on, my mother; for I will not deny you.”
Parallel Translations
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Then she said, “I ask one small petition of you; don’t deny me.” The king said to her, “Ask on, my mother; for I will not deny you.”
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Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.
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Then she said: 'I ask one small petition of thee; deny me not.' And the king said unto her: 'Ask on, my mother; for I will not deny thee.'
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to 1 Kings 2:20 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. Or who is there among you, who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
- Matthew 10:35-36 For I came to set a man at odds against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s foes will be those of his own household.
- Matthew 11:24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, on the day of judgment, than for you.”
- Matthew 18:19 Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.
- Matthew 20:20-21 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking a certain thing of him. He said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Command that these, my two sons, may sit, one on your right hand, and one on your left hand, in your Kingdom.”
- Luke 11:9-10 “I tell you, keep asking, and it will be given you. Keep seeking, and you will find. Keep knocking, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.
- John 2:3-4 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come.”
- John 14:13-14 Whatever you will ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.
- John 15:16 You didn’t choose me, but I chose you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (8 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ki 2:20 Then she said, I desire one small…
1Ki 2:20 Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; [I pray thee], say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay.
Ver. 20. I desire one small petition of thee.] Small she called it, but Solomon, who saw further into the matter, judged otherwise of it. {1Ki 2:22} There are depths of the devil which every one cannot dive into.
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“ Ut fugias quae sunt noxia, tuta time. ”
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain One small petition; so she esteemed it, because she…
One small petition; so she esteemed it, because she did not perceive his design in it; and as for that law, Lev 18:7, she might apprehend, that because David knew her not, it was only a contract for marriage, and therefore no impediment of her marriage to any other after his death; which also is the opinion of some of the late learned Hebrew doctors.
I will not say thee nay; supposing thy request be but small, as thou sayest it is, and not unlawful, nor injurious to myself or others.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then she said, I desire one small petition of…
Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee,.... It was but one, and a little one, and therefore she hoped it would be granted:
I pray thee, say me not nay; do not refuse it, or deny it me, or turn away my thee with shame and disappointment:
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and the king said, ask on, my mother, for I will not say thee nay; since it is a small one, as thou sayest, and provided it is fit and lawful to be granted.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Ki 2:20-21. I desire one small petition of thee…
1Ki 2:20-21. I desire one small petition of thee — So she esteemed it, because she did not perceive Adonijah’s design in it, nor the circumstances connected with it. I will not say thee nay — Supposing thy request can be lawfully and safely granted, and will be productive of no injury to myself or others. Let Abishag be given to Adonijah thy brother — That is, thy brother by the father’s side, and whom brotherly affection and relation oblige thee to gratify; at least, in small things.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Thy face, with confusion. He engages to grant her…
Thy face, with confusion. He engages to grant her request, if it could be done with any propriety, (Calmet) as a son ought to do. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 20. One small petition — These words show that…
20. One small petition — These words show that Bathsheba did not clearly comprehend the treasonable import of Adonijah’s request.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 20. I desire one small petition of thee] These…
20. I desire one small petition of thee] These words seem to confirm what has been said above, that Bath-sheba had not realized the grave import of her request.
I will not say thee nay] i.e. If it be possible for me to grant it. The condition, though unexpressed, is of necessity understood.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Then she said, I desire one small petition of…
Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee. So it seemed, no doubt, to her, in her inexperience and ignorance of Adonijah"s real motives. She thought she held the threads of a love story in her hands, and that it would be a small thing for Solomon to make these handsome lovers happy: I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother: for I will not say thee nay. The readiness of the king to grant whatever she asked proves that the reasons which induced him to deny her request must have been weighty; i.e., Adonijah"s suit cannot have been devoid of political consequences.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.